Tui Prosthemadera novaeseelandiae novaeseelandiae. 30cm
Habitat and distribution: Inhabit forests and forest remnants, orchards and gardens throughout New Zealand.
Characteristics: Conspicuous white throat feathers. Strong, rapid, noisy flight. Males larger than femails and immature birds.
Voice: Song varies considerably with district. Bell-like notes, low whistles, chuckles and guttural 'squarks' are all part of repertoire.
Food: Nectar, fruits and insects. Often takes large insects such as stick insects. fly considerable distances to feed on seasonal flowering plants, e.g. kowhai and pohutukawa.
Breeding: A bulky nest of sticks, dry leaves and grasses is built in tree fork, shrub or manuka canopy. Clutch of 2 or 3 pinkish eggs with light-brown spots is laid from September to January and incubated by femail for 14 days. Both parents feed chicks
sorce:The Reed Field Guid to New Zealand birds by Geoff Moon (ISBN 0 7900 0336 8)